You have just entered a very murky area - computer audio. Its about a lot more than plugging a DAC/amp into the USB port on your netbook : you should read anything you can find on the topic - here are a few search terms to get you started (they will lead to other areas of expertise):
- FLAC vs lossless
- Winamp
- dbPoweramp
- foobar2000
- EAC (Exact Audio Copy)
- bit-perfect audio
- jitter
- USB vs optical
- iBasso D10
- computer audio
Once you have sorted through that lot, along with the claims and counter claims, you should be in a position to come back and tell us whether a netbook can compete with a Cowon in terms of SQ. The other question is what it will cost you to bring your netbook up to that standard.
- FLAC vs lossless
- Winamp
- dbPoweramp
- foobar2000
- EAC (Exact Audio Copy)
- bit-perfect audio
- jitter
- USB vs optical
- iBasso D10
- computer audio
Once you have sorted through that lot, along with the claims and counter claims, you should be in a position to come back and tell us whether a netbook can compete with a Cowon in terms of SQ. The other question is what it will cost you to bring your netbook up to that standard.







